A sample hike from the Quick and Dirty Hiking Guides: 12 Classic Hikes in Colorado. This sample hike for downloading details the Devil's Thumb Loop. Read More ...

Continue reading Quick and Dirty Hiking Guides: Devils Thumb sampler at PMags.com.

A classic backpacking loop with an off-trail twist.

Once or twice a year, my buddy d-low and I get in a backpacking trip together.

It is a chance for him to get into the mountains overnight, a chance for us to catch-up and for me to re-acquaint  myself with the mountains in Boulder’s backyard.

The place I am speaking of the Indian Peaks Wilderness. A small, but varied, wilderness area with high peaks, alpine lakes, forested terrain and an explosion of wildflowers in the summer.

Though the area is very popular on the east side of the divide (!), relative solitude can be had if a hiker goes past the popular lakes and esp if one goes off-trail.

On a variation of a classic backpacking loop, d-low and I would go off-trail on the second day.

The off-trail variation would prove to be stupendous.

Continue reading Devils Thumb – Off Trail Option at PMags.com.

A classic Colorado backpacking loop in the Indian Peaks Wilderness with d-low.

My buddy d-low is a newly minted father.  Weekends are no longer strictly about the outdoors but also about working in the yard, helping to maintain his household and the day-to-day activities involved in raising a child with his someone Wendy.

As with me, d-low works a job that can be fast paced and stressful at times. Also, as with me, he needs time spent  in the mountains to decompress, recover and rejuvenate after working a job he calls The Crisis Center (I call where I work “The Salt Mine“).

So, once a month my good friend takes off into the backcountry and enjoys a night out in the high country.

He invited me to tag along last weekend for a favorite backpacking trip of his.  It would be the classic Devil’s Thumb Loop in the Indians Peaks Wilderness.

Continue reading High and Lonesome Redux at PMags.com.

Fall is perhaps the best time of the year to hike in the Colorado high country.

The skies are clear. The aspens are an explosion of gold. The ground cover is a mix of red, yellow and orange. And their is a crisp feeling in the air that makes the miles go by and the smiles on the face wide.

Hiking in Colorado any time is wonderful. Fall? Seems even more so.

My friends and I stated fairly early at the always popular Hessie TH less than an hour from Boulder.

This TH can be crowded. The trick is to start early and quickly pass the magical five mile mark.  Most hikers stay go within the series of lakes (Diamond Lake, Lost Lake and Jasper Lake among others) within easy hiking distance of the trail head.  Go past these lakes? There aren’t many people.

With those thoughts in mind, we made our way up the old road bed that serves as a trail.

Continue reading Fall up High : Devils Thumb – King Lake Loop at PMags.com.

The Indian Peaks Wilderness are the mountains I’ve always considered to be in my backyard. With roughly an hour’s drive, I am at a  trailhead that brings me to the Continental Divide. Glacier can be seen, wildflowers are blooming, and the mountains always impress.

I considers these my home mountains and always look forward to spending time in them.

D-low and I had planned a quick backpacking weekend.  Nothing too strenuous (about 12 MPD), not too far of a drive and would offer great scenery.  The Devil’s Thumb loop came to mind.

We pulled up to the Fourth of July TH to see the usual hordes of crowds. No matter…. We knew once we were past the magical five mile mark, the day hikers would cease and we’d be among the few, if any, other backpackers out. The time commitment of even a weekend backpacking trips makes the deeper backcountry an almost private treasure.

Continue reading Sometimes High and Sometimes Lonesome – Devil’s Thumb Loop, Indian Peaks Wilderness at PMags.com.